A day after the Madhya Pradesh Raj Bhavan declared part of its campus “containment-free”, without reportedly consulting the Bhopal district administration, a construction worker tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, said a Raj Bhavan official.
As six residents had tested positive by May 27, a containment area was thrown around 10 employees’ quarters which curbed movement. Later, another four residents were confirmed positive, with three families being affected.
“The worker lives outside the campus and didn’t have contact with the infected residents. He worked in another part of the campus,” said the official.
Until Monday, the Raj Bhavan had received 395 test reports including the Governor’s who was declared negative for the infection. A day later, another 50 reports were received.
The protocol prescribes an area could be declared containment-free only 21 days after the reporting of its last case. However, just a day after three residents tested positive, it was declared containment-free on June 1.
“There is no point in keeping the area under containment as the infected have been moved to hospitals, while seven other families have been quarantined outside it,” said the official. “There is no human being there so there is no chance of spread which would have required containment.”
The district administration, steering the containment strategy locally, still considered the area under containment. “The Raj Bhavan on its own has removed barricades and declared the area thus, which they have no right to,” said an official, requesting anonymity. He pointed out that even if all residents were moved out of an affected area, the 21-day guideline should be followed.
Speculation is rife that the unilateral decision by the Raj Bhavan was taken to pave the way for the long-due expansion of the six-Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Cabinet, requiring an oath-taking ceremony on the campus. Keeping it under the containment zone would put off the expansion indefinitely.
“This is not true. In any case, the main building and the auditorium where ceremonies are held are out of the containment zone,” said the Raj Bhavan official.
